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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 1998)
Rain or shine, you’re invited to community celebration The entire Vernonia co m m unity is invited to “C om m u nity in the P ark” , Saturday, Nov. 7, fro m 1 :0 0 to 3:00 p.m ., in H aw kins Park, to c e l ebrate the progress m ade— and le a rn about fu tu re p la n s— tow ard restoration of the O ld S cout C abin building. T h e c o m m u n ity c e le b ra tion w ill include Boy Scouts fro m T ro o p 86 9 and C ub S couts from Pack 201, plus Youth in A ction! and m any ad ults w ho have been w ork ing hard on the building to i ‘ i. 4. . Je? Voi. 13, No. 21 prepare it fo r use by both youth and adults. There w ill be an appea r ance by fo rm e r V ernonia res ident Tom Holce, w ho issued a “c h a lle n g e ” to m atch cash donations of up to $50,000 fo r the project; tours of the building, recognition of b e n e factors and com m unity vo lu n teers w ho have m ade this project possible, oral history in the form of story telling, and a draw ing fo r a pair of tickets from S outhw est A ir lines. S h irle e D aughtry, p re s i dent of Friends of the Scout C abin, w ill also be honored w ith the presentation of a C it izenship Aw ard by Jack M c G ow an of SOLV (Stop O re gon Litte r and Vandalism ). W arm b e v e ra g e s and cookies w ill be served. Rain w o n ’t dam pen spirits at this celebration, but bring y o u r um b re lla if you d o n 't w ant to get too wet. This event is sponsored by The F rie n d s of the S cout C abin, and Youth in A ction! INSIDE: Whoooo are you?...........pg. 5 Yummy cakes from Gladys ................. .. P9- 7 High School Sports..... pg. 8-9 Officers join VPD.......... pg. 11 Kick the habit!........pg. 15 Permit No. 37 Vernonia, OR 97064 m L* V • . 4 •-i’s * , ; Voice of the Upper Nehalem River Valley9 November 4, 1998 Most in county see property tax increase assett named as interim administrator Robyn Bassett was appoint ed interim city adm inistrator at Monday night’s meeting of the Vernonia City Council. She will ’ assume the interim position when the present administrator, Gordon Zimmerman, leaves at the end of this week. Bassett, the city’s director of public works, is already re sponsible for many of the city’s most com plicated projects, in cluding hazard mitigation, mas ter capital plan, transportation system plan and the water dis tribution rehabilitation project. The council hopes to fill the position on a permanent basis early in 1999. Local resident Jim Morrison was given a plaque in appreci ation for the time and expertise he donated to the Bear Creek reclamation project. The council approved the second reading of an o rd i nance setting the franchise rate for cable television at five percent and extending that rate for ten years. Maintenance of local bridge doubted The condition of the bridge over the Nehalem River at the east end of Bridge Street (vari ously called the mile bridge, the green bridge or the Riverview bridge) was questioned in a letter to the City of Vernonia from a for mer resident. Michael San Angelo, now a bridge engineer in Idaho, wasn't concerned about the structural soundness of the bridge, but said there appears to be a lack of rou tine maintenance by the Oregon Department of Transportation. “Reduced maintenance efforts can result in structural deteriora tion,” San Angelo wrote, requiring replacement of the bridge without allowing time for community in volvement in the design or place ment. He suggested the city should ask ODOT about their plans. ODOT’s response, from Den nis Carlson, Region 1 bridge in spector, was that they are not let ting the bridge deteriorate in order to replace it. The joints, metal rail and beaaring assemblies all need some maintenance, Carlson said, which will be done “as time and money allow.” He also assured the City that if anything major is planned for the structure, the City will be involved. Nearly all Columbia County property owners saw higher taxes when they received their property tax bills in late O cto ber. Increases ranged from 3.19 to 9.8 percent over last year, according to Columbia C ounty A ssessor Tom Lin- hares. Residential property owners in the Nehalem River valley are among those who received an increase. A voter-approved bond levy for the Vernonia Rur al Fire District helped add 6.04 percent to typical tax bills in side the City of Vernonia and 7.93 percent in the rural area. In the Mist-Birkenfeld Rural Fire District, property owners will see an increase averaging 7.72 percent because of a large reduction in the western Oregon tim ber severance tax. The market value of proper ty inside the City of Vernonia increased eight percent over the prior year, while rural prop erty stayed the same except in the M ist-B irkenfeld area, where values increased an av erage of eleven percent. Despite the increase in mar ket value, properly taxes are based on assessed values lim ited by Ballot Measure 50, Lin- hares pointed out. M easure 50, passed by Oregon voters in May 1997, re duced assessed values for the 1997-98 tax year to the 1995- 96 market value less 10 per cent. Starting this year, the as sessed value is limited to three percent increases per year un less the property is improved, subdivided, rezoned or d is qualified from special assess ment or exemption. Bonded debt levies, which are outside the M50 perm a nent rates, also affect tax rates, as evidenced by increas es in the Vernonia Fire District. Property owners who pay the entire amount due by Nov. 16, will receive a three percent discount. If two-thirds of the bill is paid by Nov. 16, a two per cent discount will be allowed. Property owners in the Ne halem Valley are no longer able to pay their taxes in Ver nonia, but must either mail them or deliver them to the courthouse in St. Helens. The new ownership of U.S. Bank, which used to collect property taxes as a convenience for lo cal custom ers, refused to offer that service at their branch of fices. Jail bond, 9-1-1 levy passing in early returns Though returns are incom plete, with more than 12,000 absentee ballots to be count ed, by 2:00 a.m. today the $13.9-m illion bond measure for a new county jail appears to be passing by about 51.5 percent to 44 percent. The 9-1-1 Com m unication District levy was also receiving hefty approval, with more than 55 percent Yes votes to 41 per cent No votes. In the highly contested race for C ounty Commissioner, De m ocrat Rita Bernhard is lead ing with 36 percent, followed by Republican Colleen DeS- hazer at 26.8 percent, and 24 percent of the ballots being cast for write-in candidates. In dependent Mervin Arnold had received 6.5 percent of the votes in the early returns. W rite-in ballots are counted only if the total num ber of write- ins surpasses the next highest num ber of votes cast.
